Posts tagged "B12"

Todd A. Born is a naturopathic physician, certified nutrition specialist (CNS), and co-owner and medical director of Born Integrative Medicine Specialists, PLLC. His roles at Allergy Research Group include Product Manager, Head of New Product Development, Scientific Advisor, and Editor-in-Chief of their science-based FOCUS Newsletter. Dr. Born is also Lead Advisor and President of the International Society for Naturopathic Medicine, as well as a medical wellness advisor for the International Medical Wellness Association.

A review of the evidence behind botanicals and nutraceuticals for the treatment of mood disorders

Should we fortify foods with folic acid to help reduce the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs)? &

Are there really dangers of ingesting too much folic acid, particularly with regard to neurological conditions?

Some countries such as the United States, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, South Africa and others have implemented fortification policies with a risk reduction of between 20 and 50%, on average about a third.

Whilst the recognition has existed for many years that deficiency in nutrients and vitamins compromises immune function, some gaps have existed in our understanding.

Whilst I have covered the role of the lipid soluble vitamins A and D in various articles in terms of their immune modulating effects, a research paper out in the Nov 2012 Journal, Nature helps to expand some of the relationships between certain B vitamins and immune functionality.[1]

This month’s (August) American Journal of Clinical Nutrition presents a longitudinal study supporting the use of B vitamins in the management of mental health.

In Nutritional Therapy practice when we are faced with patients who seem to be struggling with depression and are finding recovery hard as well as trying to prevent recurrence after resolving their current symptoms we often think – B Vitamins

But what is the evidence for this apparently normal recommendation – is there anything of substance that supports the therapeutic use of these water soluble vitamins.

To date most studies have been conducted using a cross sectional approach[1],[2] (a class of research methods that involve observation of some subset of a population of items all at the same time, in which, groups can be compared at different ages with respect of independent variables) rather than the preferred prospective style investigations (an analytic study designed to determine the relationship between a condition and a characteristic shared by some members of a group). A prospective study may involve many variables or only two; it may seek to demonstrate a relationship that is an association or one that is causal. Prospective studies produce a direct measure of risk called the relative risk.